If you like photos of gardens and flowers you can scroll through a selection of images I took at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens over the weekend. I have to make a trip to see the cherry blossoms every year. I have seen them in Brooklyn, NY, Washington DC and Newark, NJ over the past few years. It's always one of the best days of the year! Not many of the trees actually were in bloom in Brooklyn so if you are planning a trip there will be still be plenty to see and the roses are always a nice treat in June.

Here is a summer romper that I made for Ms. S a few weeks back but, after trying it on I realized I needed to make a few adjustments to the pattern. It came out a bit small in the waist so I removed the elastic. The leg cuffs were too small so I had to remove them and resize the binding strip. I also left off the pockets for this pattern.

Here is a photo of her so nicely trying it on before I made the adjustments. You can see the leg cuffs were going to be way too tight

If I decide to make this again I would cut out one size larger as I feel the cut is too narrow I hope we can get through the summer with this one.

The pattern can be found here. I really like the long pant version as well. The fabric I used is from Liberty of London's lifestyle collection which is more of a quilting weight cotton rather then the Tana Lawn I typically use and I found it nice for this project since it has a bit more weight. I like the shoulder ties and center pleat on the bodice as design elements.

Monday, April 21, 2014

My birthday was on the 19th and we had a great day in NYC. A walk through Central Park, a visit to Ladurée, a nice lunch at Cilantro and a visit to the New York Historical Society to see the Bill Cunningham exhibit and a few others. I thought I would share a few photos from our day here. There was also a surprise Easter egg hunt that we did not plan but, happily stumbled on. The macarons were delicious as were the little red cakes we brought home.

It was pretty easy to decide to knit another Ice Cream Sundae. It is such a fun knit and was one of my favorite patterns of the past year.

The sweater is designed by Dani Sunshine and it is one of the sweetest little shrug patterns I have found
Why not knit another? Two sundaes isn't going to hurt anyone. Here is the first one. I love a design that can be worn year round and the sizing will work for at least a few years.
I had bought the wool,Cephalopod Yarn, Traveller at Sheep and Wool in Rhinebeck last year and the blue color is called Looking Glass (as in Alice in Wonderland I am guessing). The natural choice for me was to pair it with a creamy white and I found some Fibre Co. Organic Tundra in my basket. The buttons are vintage wood from a company sampler and are two different sizes. I have been making a conscious effort to use supplies I have.
I kept thinking while knitting this if I paired it with red it would be like a Bombpop!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Sorry for the absence on the blog recently. I had a terrible virus that had me in bed for a week and on top of that a foot injury. The good news is that I am again healthy and Spring is really here! Little things have begun to sprout in the garden and I have lots to catch up on.

I added this sweet Hello Kitty/Liberty of London top to the shop this morning. The fabric came from Japan and was a limited edition which I am told is now sold out. The fabric was stuck in the postal system for so long I thought I would never get it but, after 2 months it arrived and I cut into it to make this top which showcases Hello Kitty tending to her garden in the Spring. It could just be the perfect top for a girl 3-4 years old!

Friday, April 4, 2014

This is my second dress using Laurel. I chose a slightly different version,one without pockets. The first one was made with a floral print and this time I used a chambray fabric that has an incredible soft hand. The pattern was cut and sewn over 2 days and I wanted to wear it as soon as it was done. I chose to use a shorter zipper then the pattern calls for which I like better. This is moderately simple to sew though getting the details just right takes a bit of patience. I like to hand sew the hem and all the seam bindings to the back. These little details look much nicer hand sewn.

The fabric gets a bit rumpled like a linen when wearing it which I don't mind in a casual dress.

For a bit of fun I'll share some of the music I listened to while sewing this:
The Clean, Stereolab, The Who, White Hassle, Elephant, Frank Sinatra.